NASCAR postponed the Daytona 500 because of rain yesterday, the first time in the 54-year history of the event that it has been delayed a day.

Heavy rain soaked Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, and NASCAR never had a big enough window to dry the track.

The 500 mile race had been rescheduled for noon today, but more rain in and around the Daytona International Speedway forced NASCAR officials to once again delay the start of the race until 7:00 this evening.

NASCAR president Mike Helton held a press conference this morning in announcing the delay and noted that if the race could not be run this evening that running it on Tuesday is an option.

Carl Edwards, runner-up to Tony Stewart in last year’s championship race, will start from the pole. Former IndyCar star Danica Patrick will make her Daytona 500 debut.

Bored drivers spent Sunday loitering around the motor home lot, playing with their children and expressing their frustration with the rain on Twitter.